The Mint has released images of the Walking Liberty 2016 Centennial gold coin (shown above), and posted the official mintage limit of 70,000 and household order limit of 3 on the website. Pricing is not yet available. The coins (item number 16XA) will be available for purchase on November 17, 2016, at noon.

In other news, the following availability dates have been released: the American Silver Eagle 2016 1-ounce Uncirculated coin will be available on December 1; the Fort Moultrie 2016 quarter dollar three-coin set, December 5; the Fort Moultrie Uncirculated 5-ounce silver coin, December 8; and the annual Uncirculated dollar coin set, December 14.

Comments

Very nice. Looking forward to completing my set but I may have to fight and push my way to order one on opening day of sales to the public. I assume coins are actually sold on that release date and not pre-sold to large, influential vendors and TPG’s first.

I’d be very disappointed if that was ever confirmed, only because labels on slabbed coins are marketed so shamelessly now and the coin is overshadowed. Just my reaction and observation.

in this big meeting with whatever clarify the air for the 2016 anniversary American Silver Eagles could be sold in 2017? Was it even address?

I haven’t decided yet but I wanted to buy at least three of the walking liberty half dollar gold coin for myself, my four-year-old daughter and my two-year-old son to complete the sets. I think it may be cheaper to buy them on the secondary market graded instead. This could potential he back flyer with a quick sellout and a rise in price quickly.

I think they should use the reverse that is on the bronze medal in the Regan C&C set on the ASE from now on. It’s time for a change, and I think that would be a good one.
The gold WLH is tempting, I still think it will be less than the mints price in a year.

Judging by the release date of December 14 for the Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set (which contains the “burnished” 2016-W ASE), it appears the Mint does intend to sell the 2016 30th Anniversary Silver Eagles during 2017. There’s no way they would release a product like that one and only sell it for 18 days.

Oh Goody Boys Town & the Lion’s Club…..really? Not only does Congress do nothing, they have been authorizing such pointless commems, as with the past, when we get down to 25th Anniv. of Twitter, or like Rotary or 50 Years of VISA Card$ then end will be here…..the WLH is noce, but again @ approx. $1,900 an oz it should be so…..

I’m not sure, Earthling, what you mean about imagining how cool the Walking Liberty would be in silver, as it was made in silver from 1916 – 1947. No need to imagine, just pick up a reasonably priced BU example from the 40’s.

I mean if this current ( or soon to be ) “tribute” had been struck in Silver, instead of Gold. I remember getting Walkers as a kid so they are familiar to me in Silver circulated form . I do plan to go to a Coin Show soon so hopefully I’ll be able to find a nice slabbed BU or maybe even a Proof. While I’m at it I might also get a bunch of circulated SLQ’s. The SLQ’s I’d get as a Kid , were always dateless. Being so familiar with circulated Walkers and Mercs I don’t need any of those.

Dusty beat me to it, Goat. That eBay coin was overpriced by $300. APMEX and other dealers have the proofs too for only a little more. I got a 1/4 oz proof for $380, which is a bullion price. I will probably cover this topic at the end of the week in my weekly column at CoinWorld.com with more info.

If anyone sees good deals on 2017 Pandas, please let us know. I am aware of SD Bullion, BSAGC, and Panda America so far, but others will also have pre-orders soon (maybe at higher prices depending on what happens on Tues.).

I don’t begrudge anyone who likes the RCM football and similar coins if they enjoy them. Let them have fun, and some of those unusual coins have held their values. I just have different tastes as sports is not my thing, and thankfully the kind of unusual coins I like tend to do very well (space, astronomy, etc. and some others). Like the new artificial intelligence coin, which is great.

O.K., Earthling. Thanks. I assume you would have liked to see the centennial Walker struck in 99.9 silver (as the American Silver Eagles are). The vintage, circulating Walkers were, as I’m sure you know, struck in 90% silver. And they were surely very impressive coins. Back in the early 60’s, I received a relatively rare 1921 Walker as cafeteria change.

@cagcrisp – I don’t think anyone (THE MINT) is listening concerning your comments about pulling the SLQ. I still 100% agree with you, it should have happened already. I hope it sells out before the Reagan C&C set……only another 118 K.

@cagcrisp – In reference to the ASE proof sales, last weeks numbers must have included all the initial returns as an offset. That would be another improvement the mint could make by listing returns separately than sales. As mentioned before on this blog, there always is a sales adjustment at about the 4-5 week mark after initial release.

@datadave, Agree Completely. The timing would be just right for the non-70’s to be returned.
Agree Completely that I wish there was a mechanism to separate gross sales from net sales. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen though.

With the New implemented sales and production report we have taken a step backwards because we No longer have the ability to have accumulative sales numbers over a span of months or years.

That preliminary 2017 product schedule for the 1st quarter mentioned the unc silver eagle, but not individual proof silver eagle. Of course, it will still be available in the Limited Edition Silver Proof set & the Reagan C & C set. I wonder it that was just an oversight?

@ cagcrisp and others – I completely understand your wanting the mint to pull the plug on the SLQ, but even selling only 383 units, it amounts to $180,000 in sales for one week. I just can’t see them pulling the plug, especially when it’s product already produced and sitting on a shelf.

@Blair J. Tobler, I understand that thinking and I agree that the Mint will not pull the plug AT THIS TIME. They WILL pull the plug at some time, because it will never sell out at 100,000.

The problem I have with the analysis of the $180,000 weekly sales for the SLQ is it does not take into account all the Lost sales on the WLH (and future offerings) because of no positive secondary market for the SLQ.

In my opinion the drop of 1,200,000 customers to 500,000 can be attributed to the fact we have been in a 5 year bear market for precious metals and there just have not been that many Mint items to make money on.

With disposable income diminishing , those older people that have disposable income are decreasing and gimmicks will not work. You have to have a positive secondary market and the lack of SLQ sales will bleed over into the WLH.

IF the SLQ had been offered at 100,000 with a HHL of 10 they would have been long sold out from the website and the WLH would have been a Launch day sell out with a mintage of 70,000 with a HHL of 3.

There is No way to quantify the monetary effect, however, there will be a material affect on the WLH sales because of the SLQ.

It has already happened. To what extent is yet to be determined.

Proper mintage and household limits do matter to the Mint or it would not have been a major topic at the just concluded summit.

The Mint just needs to man up to their mistake, cut their losses, and move on.

Cag, I think the damage is already done as far as this release is concerned, so it seems to me the Mint won’t lose anything by keeping them on sale. I don’t believe killing it now will help the results for the WLH, especially with it’s fairly high mintage limit. I do agree they have to come up with a better scheme for mintages, HHL’s, release windows, etc. Their current method of blindfolding themselves and throwing a dart at the wall to see where it sticks obviously is working too well.

@Blair J. Tobler, I can’t say I disagree with anything you have said. The only thing I am saying is that under your approach the SLQ has no chance and if the Mint was to pull the SLQ it would have a Slim chance.

My guess is the Mint will pull the SLQ within the next 10,000 sales. SO…we are talking $4.8 million in revenue and maybe a million in profit.

I would think keeping the SLQ on sale (and other offerings that should have been pulled) will Eventually cost the Mint more than that, however, there is no way to quantify my beliefs.

The Mint is Losing customers and since Gold/Silver is driving the bus, that is where the Mint needs to concentrate their efforts…

@Louis,
same thing happens in Germany where prices for upcoming gold coins are fixed about 4-5 month before the real release date. Gold is going up and after the fixing it goes down. We do our orders about 4-5 months in advance and have to buy what we ordered. If price of gold goes down bad for us buyers. And gold NEVER was more expensive after that 4-5 months period. So no risk for the german mints (A,D,F,G,J)

Goat- for the BU gold Libs we won’t know for a while, but for the proofs the authorized max is 2100, including 500 in 5-piece sets and up to 1600 individual, which does not mean for sure there will be that many.

I realize my money could better spent on other gold coin/bullion, than on the WLH. But I have proof/unc gold eagles/buffalo’s, pre 1933 $20 Gauldens,/Liberty as well as Indian Head coins. I have $1, $2.5, $5 and $10 pre 1933 gold.

But I don’t have a gold WLH, so I will but at least one because I want one and plan to keep it regardless of where gold may be 5 years from now.
And as I said before, I may buyy two from the Mint, or wait a buy a NGC SP70 down the road for my second WLH.

But yes, it seems likely, or at least possible, we will be above $1300 gold on November 17.

I got an email from APMEX….as I’m sure many of you do regarding a flash sale that ends at 4pm eat today ((I mention this because sometimes I miss these sales).

Anyway, the sale is for a silver Libertad 5 oz bullion coin for $29.99/coin over spot…current prices are $123.70/check or $128.95 visit cc.
And these have a mintage limit of 11,400….and include a capsule….so if you like these coins, it sounds like a pretty good deal.

The only thing about this offer that is negative, is that you are limited to buy only 100 coins….dang

For those of you interested in the Fort Moultrie 5 oz bullion, bayprecious metals on ebay has the best price….by cc…, but still about the same as JM Bullion via check. I bought one for $111.90 on ebay yesterday…now they are $113.43…..but this is a limited time offer by bayprecious metals, and will go up about $4 once this dell ends.

But who knows if now is the time to buy as prices are rising every day, or should one wait?

Someone a few weeks back stated that the Unc “S” ATB quarters for 2016 Shawnee was going to go over 1,000,000. At this point I do not think any of the 2016 ATB Unc “S” will ever go over 1,000,000. Of course we never really know how many the MINT produced, for they will not give out production/mintage numbers. They only get out sales and you need a Freedom of Information Act to try and get mintage numbers.

Just look at the 2015 mint and proof sets, they are still selling them. Even 2010 ATB Unc sets!

At about 79,000+ sales on the SLQ, they will continue to sell them all the way through 2017.

A bigger loser if the 2016 $1 Coin & Currency set which is sitting at 41,597 which is pitiful at best.

@Goat, @Dustyroads — Here’s where I make a shameless plug for the Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money, volume 2, which covers modern coinage (including Libertads and their mintages: https://goo.gl/NUUWHV). The author is Don Bailey, who of course owns the site you linked to. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

(P.S. — I don’t plan to drop in on your conversations with book plugs, as a rule. I just happen to have a very soft spot for Don and Lois Bailey, and for this encyclopedia series.)

Sometimes I do not know which is worse gold, and silver prices or regular coins. I was looking to purchase rolls of JFK half dollars for my children, but with a markup of 60% forget it. This makes bullion a better purchase.

@johnaz….are you referring to the WLH Gold? When I do a search on “2016 gold walking liberty half”, I only see seven auctions with one sold on 10/30 for $1255…boy, did he Overpay!

One seller currently has 4 available at $1010 or best offer and he has not sold any. And these have been on sell for over a week.

The lack of interest in pre-sales says don’t expect to make money on these coins….of course things could change if a quick sellout happens.

I only bought one SLQ as the HHL and mintage doomed it.

But I did well on the dime….pre-sales were crazy….and about 10 days before release, I pre-sold nine coins for $320 each….I bet they hate me now.

But pre-sales are sometimes a good indication of interest….and pre-sales for the WLH are about as lackluster as any coin I’ve seen. No profit here unless an unexpected quick sellout.

It will be interesting to see where gold/silver prices go this month….and what to expect from prices next year….buy now or wait. My strategy is both…buy some now and some later…i.e. dollar cost averaging

The 1-ounce platinum Proof Eagle recently got a price increase from $1,300 to $1,350, even though it’s unavailable. I wonder if that means they’re about to release the 850 or so remaining in its mintage limit — or maybe they’re adjusting the price for form’s sake, based on recent bullion values, even though they don’t intend to issue any more? I’ll be interested to know what you seasoned market-watchers think. — Diana

@Old Big Bird – In response to your Shawnee S quarter comment, I currently have it at 988K, it sold 2K last week and probably has about 20 weeks left. I think it will make it to 1M. I think the low mark might be Cumberland which is only at 928K right now and sold 3K last week. It will be close with that one. I still think the Mint should release any of the extras into circulation and do it in a way that spreads them around the country, like a handful per huge bag that they ship to the major distribution points.

OT – Possible new low mintage for silver proof sets. The 2012 has the crown right now with 395K. 2015 is sitting at 381K with 9 weeks left (assuming they take it off the site on 12/31/2016). In addition 2012 had an extra 45K LESPS sold but 2015 has no LESPS at all. 2016 sets are at 300K and will probably come close to these same levels. I wouldn’t really push proof sets, but sales of the silver set seem to be holding up better than the regular set. The other thing you get with this 2015 set is possibly the lowest mintage of the Presidential proof dollars.

@Dustyroads – I to have been collecting the mintages of the Unc “S” ATB that are only sold in rolls from the mint going back to 2012, and the P&D back to 2010. As of 10/31/16 These are just a few of the items that I have tracked in my spreadsheets for years.

Yes to the Whitman Encyclopedia Of Mexican Money. I have volume 1 and 2 , with volume 3 on reserve. Very well put together.

Dustyroads I also use, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertad_(coin) , little easier for a quick view of a year/size. Current year info is much needed. Since year 2000, any gold (proof/unc) is scarce and proof silver could fall into that statement as well if people flood to that market someday .

@data dave – Yes in October they sold 11,700 with October 9th being the biggest week of 6,640. But with all of the last minute items up for sale based on the Mints schedule and many of them being larger dollar items sales on other lower priced items might suffer. The only thing making these quarter unique is the fact that they are not in general circulation and anyone wanting a full set will have to go shopping for them.

Old Big Bird, I have to admit, I don’t keep track of monthly sales for the quarters, only the figures when they are going to be removed. I have been wondering if these would ever see below the million mark, looks like they’re headed in that direction.

@Goat — Glad to hear it, and I’ll be sure to pass your kudos along to the Baileys. Volume 3 is well underway; in addition to being a good all-around book, it’s going to have some juicy images that haven’t previously been published elsewhere. What are your thoughts on products like coin folders for Mexican coins — is there enough of a market in the U.S. for a new line of them?

Just read that the Mint is contemplating producing a 225th anniversary four piece American Liberty Silver Medal Set in late 2017, with four different finishes from all four production facilities.. Probable mintage would be double that of the 2016 medal

Also they might produce a 2018 Reverse Proof set from the San Francisco mint

Excluding 2010 (first year hype) and 2014 (subscription discount) and 2012 (low year due to high prices), gives you 4 data points in the 90K range. Sales have fallen some, but so have most Mint sales during that time. Hard to tell what might happen during the last 4 years of the program and whether the Mint can keep the price premium reasonable.

I am not sure the “S” mint ATBs will ever have a real jump in value. I have for YEARS got BU rolls @ the bank, but of late, no one wants them, no one cares about them, and the S mint stuff is for collectors, who bought from the USM if they wanted some. I still buy & got the TR 25c from SF, why I do not know. Dealers offer $25 or $26 for a bag of the$e. Quite surprising TR bullion puck has not sold more. They Pucks had picked up a bit of late but stagnant metals prices create no incentive, end of the year duldroms?? Election nervousness? Wait a few days…..our best choices are 2 like 70 years old`s….w0w

Wily, at the numismatic forum they mentioned this set in their slides. They recently released slides to all participants and the new slides did not show the four medal set. At least I could not find them. This makes me think that maybe they are reconsidering this set.

@data dave, “2012 (low year due to high prices)” . Actually 2012 prices were much cheaper than 2010 prices. All 2010 P pucks were launched at $279.95 and the first 4 pucks in 2012 were launched at $204.95 and the 5th was launched at $229.95.

Here are some of my observations. Some in ” “are from the just released 10-Q.

1. Stock has decreased approximately 26% in the past 3 months. Currently $16.62 down 8.53% Today.
2. Net income for Q1 FY17 is $1,581,000, down $350,000 Q1 FY17 vs. Q1 FY16
3. “A lower average service fee earned on the authentication and grading of moderns coins, arising from our previously disclosed more competitive and focused marketing programs for modern coins, that we introduced in January 2016”
4. “Five of our coin authentication and grading customers accounted, in the aggregate, for approximately 14% of our total net revenues in both the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015.”
5. “Authentication and grading fees accounted for approximately 86% of our service revenues in the three months ended September 30, 2016. The amount of those fees and our gross profit margins are primarily driven by the volume and mix of coin and collectibles sales and purchase transactions by collectibles dealers and collectors, because our authentication and grading services generally facilitate sales and purchases of coins and other high value collectibles by providing dealers and collectors with a high level of assurance as to the authenticity and quality of the collectibles they seek to sell or buy. Consequently, dealers and collectors most often submit coins and other collectibles to us for authentication and grading at those times when they are in the market to sell or buy coins and the other high-value collectibles, that we authenticate and grade.”
6. Coin revenue increased +$658,000 (7.1%) from corresponding Q1 2016 vs. Q1 2015
7. Actual coins units processed +166,300(38.4% ) from corresponding Q1 2016 vs. Q1 2015
8. “The net increase in coin authentication and grading fees of $879,000 in the three months ended September 30, 2016 reflected (i) increased world coin fees of $689,000 or 59.7%, which includes a $342,000 or 65% increase in coins fees earned from our operation in China; (ii) increased coin trade show fees of $194,000 or 9.2%, reflecting revenues from one show that straddled the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and the first quarter of fiscal 2017; (iii) increased vintage fees of $111,000 or 3.5% and (iv) lower modern coins revenues $115,000 or 5.1% reflecting a 29% increase in the number of modern units authenticated and graded in this year’s first quarter at a lower average service fee, arising from our previously disclosed more competitive and focused marketing programs for our modern coin business, that we introduced in January 2016.”

Regarding the mixed results from CLCT. As a customer (and a stockholder) I have expressed serious concerns to them regarding their lack of respect towards small collectors in favor of their bigger customers.
Their favoritism towards the big guys leaves us small guys feeling 2nd rate. They do it at shows when you submit, and it continues in the form of much slower turn times.
If they want to continue to grow their business, they need to be more even-handed in their customer relations.

Why not just go ahead and return to 90% silver and 22 karat gold coinage….and of course silver and gold certificates, [redeemable at face value in silver/gold]…like we used to have> Worked well for 150 years.

The Cohen Mint made Rh coins for years but I believe they closed a few years ago due to the owner’s health. They can still be found on the secondary market.

If you are considering Rh as an investment, FIRST I would make sure you are completely set with all the gold, silver, platinum and palladium you need. Then if you still have a burning to desire to be in this ultra-thin/wide spread market then buy a few 1 oz. Baird bars.

I guess my post did not make it out there. My question is why is the WLH only a 1/2 oz of gold whereas the Kennedy half was 3/4 oz? The same half dollar coin with 1/4 oz less gold. I will be purchasing one as the dime and quarter both graded SP 70 ultra proof. I am hoping the half does the same. But I still don’t understand why the Kennedy half is still is 3/4 oz and the LHD is only a 1/2 oz. can anyone explain this tome please?
Gary Lane